Ch. 68 The Ring

Angela stared at the front door of the house she honestly hadn't spent that much time in . She'd grown up in a different small house in Oakland. It wasn't until she'd moved to Tacoma for school that her Mom and Aunt had decided to downsize into the even smaller house in Bakersfield. She twisted the ring Happy had given her around her finger nervously, she was really starting to wish she'd just called her aunt. This conversation could have easily been done over the phone, but she had wanted out of the house. Jax had given the club four days of rest in memory of Opie. Four days where she and Juice could finally spend time together away from the club, and she didn't want to be anywhere near him. Two awkward days had already gone by filled with one word conversations and her sleeping with her back to him. To be fair, Juice was trying. He was trying so hard to be sweet to her, but she was stuck in angry mode and couldn't find her way out. So she'd driven the three hours it took to get to Bakersfield because when she wasn't mad at her aunt, Elena usually helped her sort through these kinds of issues. Now, looking at the house, she was starting to regret ever making the trek out there.

Sucking in a deep breath, she kicked open her car door and headed up the front walk. She thought about knocking on the door before rolling her eyes at the idea of it; she hadn't grown up here, but it was still her house technically. Opening the door, she was met with the smell of freshly baked tamales that made her mouth water. "Tia! Ma!" she called as she headed inside, her stomach grumbling. She headed into the kitchen, lifting the lid of the big pot on the stove, and grabbing a nearby spoon.

Her hand was quickly slapped away before she could get a taste. "Que 'stas haciendo?" Elena asked, a disapproving look on her face though her eyes held that familiar warmth to them. (What are you doing?)

Angela put the lid back on and frowned. "Just wanted a taste. Smells good, Tia."

Elena reached up her arms and pulled her niece into a tight hug. "Yo te quiero tanto, mijita. I just want you to be happy," she whispered, kissing her cheek. That was as good of an apology as she could muster. She pulled away, putting her soft, wrinkled hands on either side of Angela's face. "Are you happy, mi vida?" (I love you so much, my daughter...my life.)

She wasn't happy at the moment but in the grander scheme of things, she was, so she nodded her head. "Yeah, Tia."

"And this boy, he makes you happy?"

Angela nodded again, swallowing hard as she fought off tears. "Yeah, he does," she answered because it was the truth. Most of the time, Juice made her very happy. It was when he made out with other women and made her feel like trash that she wasn't happy with him. She just had to get over that, and they'd be fine.

"Then that's all I care about," Elena said decidedly. "You just scared me, mija. I've spent all my life wanting the best for you. I didn't want you to end up like me. Single with a baby. Es dificil. And believe it or not, my Happy was no angel growing up. I just don't want that kind of life for you. You deserve better." (It's hard.)

Tears stung at the corner of her eyes as Angela smiled. "I know, Tia. But he is...Juice is good. He's so good, and he wants to be a dad, Tia. Whatever happens between us...he's going to be there for this baby."

"Whatever happens between you..." Elena repeated, a worried look in her eyes. "Que paso? What's going to happen between you?"

She shrugged in response, leaning against the counter as she wiped at her eyes. "You know how the Sons are with women, Tia. Its not...they're not always faithful, and I don't know if I can...deal with that."

Elena's brow creased in concern. "Angelita did he..."

She shrugged again. "It was just...he just kissed someone else," she said, grimacing at her own description of it. It sounded so...insignificant. Her aunt's eyes darted to the doorway briefly before falling back on her. Angela was so wrapped up in her head, she didn't turn to see what she was looking at, she was more focused on the tan line Juice's ring had left behind on her finger. She still hadn't put the claddagh ring back on. She couldn't find it in her to wear such a strong symbol of loyalty and love."And I know that's really nothing, and I shouldn't be all that upset, but I can't...get over it. I don't know what to do, Tia. Every time I look at him, I see her and it makes me sick."

"But you love him."

"I wish I didn't right now, but I do. I don't want to be without him," she answered honestly.

Elena's wrinkled hands reached up to cup her niece's cheeks. "Mija, sometimes, that is enough. He may have kissed another woman, but he came back to you, no? El te quiere. I saw it in his eyes. Last time I saw a love like that, it was your father looking at your mother." (He loves you.)

A tear slid down Angela's face as she nodded. She didn't remember much about her father, but she remembered the way he was with her mother. The obvious love that held them together. "Yeah?"

"I would not lie about that, mi vida."

Angela heard the front door slam shut and jumped. There were only two people who slammed the door like that in this house. One of them was her, the other was... "Shit. Was that..."

Elena nodded. She'd seen her son walk in and knew better than to alert her niece of his presence. The man who hurt her had to pay for what he did and she knew her son would see that it happened. "He's going to make things right."

"Are you crazy?" she asked, grabbing her keys off the counter. "He'll kill him!"

She ignored whatever her aunt had to say to that and sprinted to her car, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew exactly where he was going; the clubhouse. Juice was working at TM that day. Jumping into her car, she started it and tore out of the neighborhood, trying her best to keep the Reaper on Happy's back in sight. Her hands shook as she picked up her phone, yelling at Siri to call 'Goofy'. "C'mon Juice. Pick up, pick up, baby."

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Happy had never ridden so fast in his life. He could see Angela's little Mazda in his mirror, weaving through traffic to keep up with him. Though warning bells went off in his head about how dangerous what she was doing was; he didn't slow his pace. She knew how to drive and knew how to drive well. He needed to get back to TM and beat the shit out of the idiot who'd hurt his little girl. There was a spot of traffic up ahead, a perfect way to slow Angela down. He went between the two lanes of cars, satisfied when he could no longer see the Mazda in his mirrors.

As soon as he pulled his bike to a stop in front of TM, he headed towards the garage bays. He could see that stupid mohawk from a mile away talking to some dark haired chick that was not his cousin. That was just icing on the cake. "Idiot! Ring! Now!" he barked at him, turning and heading towards the clubhouse, taking off his rings as he went.

Juice's eyes widened as he watched Happy head towards the ring. "Shit," he cursed, tossing his wrench into his toolbox and stepping around Chloe who'd just brought her car in to fix a flat. He looked around the garage, noting the excited gleam in Tig's eyes, the worried look on Chibs' face.

"Ring?" Chloe echoed, confused as Juice started walking towards the other side of the lot. She spotted the old, dirty boxing ring in the corner and realized what was going to go down. "Oh crap," she cursed, getting out her cell phone to call Angela.

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"This deserved?" Chibs asked Juice as he jogged alongside him, holding a hand out to take his rings.

"Yeah," Juice answered honestly. He deserved to get the shit kicked out of him for what he did, there was no question about it. The fact Angela had told Happy had him thrown. She had to have known this would happen, yet she wasn't there to stop it. Had she given up on him? Or was this something she needed for them to be okay? He dropped his heavy rings into Chibs' hands, taking special care with the one she had given him.

"Be careful, brotha," Chibs advised, watching the young man climb into the ring.

Juice nodded in response, feeling the adrenaline buzz through his veins as he watched Happy crack his knuckles. He wasn't sure what his game plan was yet. A part of him wanted to just take it. Let Happy wail on him as much as he needed to and then let it rest. Another part of him knew if he didn't fight back, Hap might lose control and really hurt him. Rolling his shoulders, he prepared himself for what he was sure was going to be an onslaught of pain.

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Angela's heart was pounding as she pulled into the TM lot. She swung the Mazda into the closest parking spot before practically jumping out of the car. She saw Happy's first connect with Juice's face with a thud making her stomach churn. "Jesus Christ," she muttered to herself before running over there. "Stop! Cut it out! STOP!"

But neither Hap nor Juice listened to her. They were too busy beating the shit out of each other. Juice had rebounded from Happy's hit and sent a good strong punch flying to Happy's nose, landing the hit with a sickening crunch. Blood poured from Hap's nose, but it didn't stop him from coming back at Juice and sending the younger man to the ground with a well placed hit. "That is enough!" she shouted, this time getting Happy's attention as she grabbed the ropes to hoist herself up.

Chibs was there in seconds, his arm around her waist to pull her back down. He sent Tig a look across the ring while Angela struggled against him. Tig nodded, ducking under the ropes and stepping in between them. "Stop!" he exclaimed, holding both of them off each other. "You're upsetting, Preggo! Hug it out and let's be done!"

Chloe watched in fascination as the two bruised and bloodied men embraced quickly, slapping each other hard on the back and walking away as if nothing had happened. She glanced at Angela who seemed to be pissed. "That feel good?" Angela asked her cousin, glaring daggers at him.

"Yeah," Happy answered honestly. He looked Chloe over, his dark eyes raking over her body quickly before settling on her face. She raised an eyebrow at him, more curious than intimidated by him. "Broken?" he asked, pointing to his nose.

Angela glanced over at Chloe, looking surprised to see here there. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, the words coming out angrier than she wanted them to. She was just frustrated with the whole situation.

"Nice to see you too, Ang. My car had a flat," the nurse replied on a shrug. Without a trace of fear, she carefully lifted a hand to touch Happy's nose, her eyes squinting as she applied just the slightest bit of pressure. He hissed in response, hitting her hand away. "Oh, its broken all right. Want me to fix it?" she offered.

He nodded again, tilting his head towards the clubhouse. Angela watched in complete shock as Chloe followed Happy inside. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head; there were more pressing things at hand than whatever bizarre thing Happy and Chloe had going on. She turned to Juice who had peeled off his bloodied shirt and was holding it to his split lip. Her look softened a bit as she reached up to touch a particularly dark bruise on his cheek. "C'mon, Rocky," she said on a sigh. "I'll patch you up."

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Chloe looked around the small bathroom that was covered in random SOA paraphernalia, a large American flag mural on one wall. She laughed at the colored panties hanging on another wall near the toilet and smirked. "What do you got to do to get your panties there?"

"Leave 'em here," Happy answered, taking a seat on the closed toilet. He nodded to the little shelf in the corner. "Kit's over there."

She turned to grab the plastic kit, setting it on the sink and opening it up only to find it mostly barren. She fought the urge to laugh. "There's barely anything in here."

"Shit happens," he said by way of explanation.

"Right," she said on a breath. "Are there towels?"

Happy glanced around the room before grabbing a blue pair of boy shorts off the hook with all the panties and handing it to her. At her eyebrow raise, he shrugged. "Want me to do it?"

"No, no," she said, taking the underwear from him and running it under the faucet for a second. Carefully, she started wiping away the blood from his face to get a better look at his nose. "Blow your nose."

He did as he was told, going through a few handfuls of toilet paper before she deemed it acceptable. She bent down a bit so her face was even with his to get a better look at his injured face. With his face that close to hers, he could see the freckles dusted across her nose, something he hadn't expected to find in a girl with such pretty almond shaped eyes.

If she noticed him studying her, she didn't say anything. She was totally focused on fixing his nose. Pressing her fingers to the bridge of his nose, she told him to take a breath before saying, "All right, I'm going to straighten it on three," she warned him. "One...two..."

Happy let out a grunt of pain as she applied pressure to his nose to straighten out the bone. "What happened to three?" he growled.

"I like the element of surprise," Chloe quipped, smirking at him as she tossed the panties into the trash can. "It looks pretty straight. You can align it more by sticking your fingers up there and straightening the bones. Otherwise, I can pack it with paper."

He knew what she was talking about, he'd done it before, but he wasn't about to go sticking his fingers up his nose in front of her. He shook his head, grabbing some toilet paper and blowing his nose before rolling some up and packing his nostrils with it to staunch the bleeding. "I got it."

"You've done this before," she stated, not at all surprised when he nodded. Holding out her hands, palms up, she said, "Now let me see those hands."

He gave her a reluctant look which only made her shake her hands, insisting. With a sigh, he set his hands in them. "Idiot's got a hard head," he stated, explaining the split knuckles.

"Shouldn't you have wrapped them first?"

"I like the element of surprise," he repeated, giving her a smirk.

Chloe laughed lightly, shaking her head at him. "Of course you do," she muttered, dabbing at the broken skin with an alcohol soaked gauze. Despite having ink up and down his arms, his hands were bare, their only decoration the faint scars that criss-crossed over his tan skin. Battle scars left behind from a lifetime of fighting, she assumed.

"Why you here?" he asked, glancing up at her face. Her hazel eyes were focused on the task at hand, her short dark hair falling forward.

"Got a flat," she answered. He looked at her as if she was the dumbest person alive. "I know, I should be able to change it myself, and I did the first time. But this is like the third time it's happened in the past month to three different tires no less!"

Happy was surprised she knew how to change a tire. More surprised she'd accurately interpreted the look he was given her and answered it as if he'd asked the question a loud. The only other people he knew who could do that were his mom and cousin. "Armenians tune it before all that?"

"Yeah. Rotated my tires," she said on a shrug. He raised his eyebrows at her and it clicked. She smacked herself in the forehead. "Ugh! I'm an idiot. I totally didn't make that connection! They messed with my tires!"

"Not the first time they've done it," he muttered as she finished bandaging.

He flexed his fingers, staring at the bandage. She'd done a good job of fixing him up. Lifting a hand to touch his nose, he was surprised when she hit it away. "Dude, I just set it. Don't mess," she said, pointing at his face. "Do I need to tape your ribs or anything?"

"I'm good. Idiot didn't get many hits in," he said, shaking his head as he stood. He looked down at her, still intrigued by her features. She must've come from a mixed family to have such unique features.

"I'm Chinese and German," Chloe answered his unasked question with a smirk. She'd caught that curious gaze in his eyes as he studied her face; it was a sight she was familiar with. "That's what you're wondering, right?"

He nodded, that was exactly what he'd been thinking. "Good mix," he said cryptically. He brushed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Thanks."

And just like that, he was gone, the bathroom door closing behind him. Chloe stared at the door with wide eyes wondering where the hell that had come from. Hap didn't look like the guy to drop a kiss on a girl's forehead and bail. He looked like the type to press a girl up against a wall and have his way with her before bailing. Opening the door, she was surprised to see him standing in the hallway, staring at another closed door. She knew Angela was on the other side of it and had a feeling he was contemplating whether to go in there or not. "Give her space," she advised him.

He nodded but didn't move. Apparently, he thought the door that stood shut between him and his cousin was enough space. Chloe fought the urge to roll her eyes at the stubborn man. Sighing, she leaned against the wall, ready to intervene if necessary.

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Juice sat down on the closed toilet of his bathroom in the clubhouse, watching as Angela pulled out the first aid kit from under the sink. She looked over the supply before looking back at him, anger still glowing in her dark eyes. Thankfully, that anger wasn't directed at him. A frustration of his own swirled around in the pit of his stomach. He tried to get a grip on the feeling, knowing he deserved every bit of the pain he was in. Maybe that's why Angela let Happy do it. Why she hadn't stepped in until they were well into their fight. Had she been there the whole time just waiting? Had Chloe been there on purpose to call her when things got bad? "Are we okay now?" he asked after a moment.

"What?" she replied, her brows drawn in confusion as she wiped away the blood from under his nose. His nose wasn't broken, but Hap had given it a good whack and made it bleed.

"Is this..." he gestured to his bruised face, "something you needed to have happen for us to be okay?"

Her dark eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Jesus Christ, Juice! Are you asking if I wanted Hap to beat the shit out of you?" she asked, her tone incredulous.

He nodded slowly. He knew his answer would piss her off, but he had to know. "Why else would you have told him?"

She gaped at him in complete shock as the realization hit her. He thought this was on her. That she'd gone and told Hap because she wanted to hurt him. It was a move that would make Gemma proud, if it had actually been her plan. "I didn't tell him. I went to talk to my aunt. I told her and that asshole over heard it," she said, feeling a bit hurt at the accusation. She met his stare for a moment. "Is that the kind of person you think I am?"

Juice took her hand in his own, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "No, its not, and I'm not the guy I was...the other day either," he admitted on a soft breath. He slid his bloodied hands under her flowy top, leaning his head forward to nuzzle his nose against the bump of her stomach. "I don't want to be that guy, Angel."

Angela felt her breath catch in her throat. She rubbed her palm over the strip of hair in the middle of his head, her heart aching at the sadness in his voice. "You're not, Juice," she whispered softly. "I know that."

He lifted his head, looking up at her. "Do you?" he asked, not at all sure of what she said. "You knew from the beginning that I was gonna fuck up, Angel. I don't know how you knew, but you did. It's why you never pushed to get married. And I...I didn't get that at first, but I do now. I get why you were scared because I did exactly what you thought I would like a fucking asshole."

"Juice..."

He stood up, heading out into the bedroom and beginning to pace. Glancing at her, he shook his head, the adrenaline and anger from the fight coming back to him. "I'm not a good guy, Angel. You know that. You knew that the day we met and the club needed...corpses. And then you...you hacked your way into my life like some goddamn virus!"

"Virus?" she repeated. She would've laughed if he wasn't so riled up. "Juice..."

"But I don't want to get rid of you! I don't want anyone else! And it shouldn't have taken me almost fucking Carla to realize that, but it did because I'm a total fuck up! And you know what? I'm probably gonna fuck up our kid's life just like my dad fucked up mine! So I get it if you want a way out because I just handed you one!"

"Juice! Shut up, you big goof!" she shouted, cutting off his rant. He stopped pacing and just looked at her, his chest heaving up and down, out of breath from his rant. "Relax. You're not going to fuck anything up. We're going to be okay. Its going to take work, but we're going to be okay. Relationships take work. You hurt me and that...that sucks and yeah, I'm not over it. Not yet. But we can work on that. Because I love you and that's enough."

Juice relaxed at her reply. It was the first time she'd said she'd loved him since she'd caught him cheating. He'd said it to her every chance he got, but her answer was always a simple, 'okay.' He'd been afraid she didn't love him anymore. That he'd broken that part of her that loved him. "It is?"

It was what her aunt had said earlier and even though her aunt had also sent Happy to go after Juice, she trusted the older woman's judgement. "Yeah, it is," she said definitively. She wasn't one hundred percent convinced of her words, but she was willing to give it another try. Her aunt was rarely wrong, and it hurt less to be with him than without him. Plus, the way he was looking, all battered, bruised, and riled up was a total turn on.

She took a step closer to him, looking at his bruised face, lifting a hand to trace the ink on his chest. His hand covered hers, squeezing it tightly. Dipping his head, he caught her lips in a long, heartfelt kiss. He felt it then. That spark. It wasn't as strong as usual, but it was there. It gave him hope that what she said was true. That there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Her hands flattened on his pecs, gently pushing him back until the backs of his knees hit the mattress.

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Happy heard the mattress squeak followed by his cousin moaning. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself. Of all the things he'd expected to go on in that room, sex was one he'd never considered.

Chloe fought against a laugh. "That would be the baby hormones," she stated with a smile. "Second trimester and women tend to get a little...horny."

He looked at her as though she was insane. This he hadn't remembered from his aunt's pregnancy, and he was very glad about that. His hand shot out for the doorknob only to be stopped by Chloe. "That ain't right," he said, pointing to the door.

"Hap, there are women's panties in the bathroom. That ain't right," she shot back. "C'mon. Let's go see if that Rat kid finished my car so I can bounce. I've got stuff to do."

"Need a ride?" he offered again.

Chloe looked him over, a curious gleam in her eyes. She'd never ridden a motorcycle before, but she was always up for trying something new and if it got him away from the clubhouse where Juice and Angela were...reconnecting, she was willing to try it. "Y'know, I think I'll take you up on that."

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